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Impact Assessment Questionnaire for Enforcement Agent Industry A. Background information Full name Company/organisation name Job title/position Date Phone number Email address Postal address Address to which we should send responses (if different) Are you happy for us to contact you for further information? Yes No B. Notes To help inform the “Transforming Bailiff Action” Consultation we would be grateful if you could answer the following questions as far as possible. Please complete either an electronic or hard copy of the questionnaire. Responses may be emailed to [email protected] or posted to ‘Enforcement Reform – Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act, Ministry of Justice, 1st Floor post point 1.40, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ’. Please continue on separate sheets if you require more space. We do not intend to publish or share any data you provide, however, we may be asked to disclose information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), so cannot guarantee confidentiality. For more details please see the box below. If you would like your information to be kept confidential, please indicate this here and outline the reasons – these will be considered should the information be requested. Freedom of Information Act Under the Freedom of Information Act we might be asked to release the data that you have provided to us under a Freedom of Information request. Any individual has the right to request for all recorded information which is held by a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act. The Freedom of Information Act contains various exemptions and exclusions from the right of access to information that ensure a proper balance is achieved between the right to know, the right to personal privacy, the delivery of effective government, and other important public interests. When a public authority considers whether the information should be released, it will consult with any third parties who may have sent or supplied the information or have a close interest in it before releasing the information. Under the Freedom Of Information Act, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation for confidentiality, but we cannot give assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. Impact Assessment Questionnaire for Enforcement Agent Industry (02.12) 1 If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential please set out clearly why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. C. About your business Number of agents How many enforcement agents does your business directly employ? How many agents work for you on a contract basis? Type of business Sole trader Enforcement firm Landlord Other If ‘Other’, please specify Areas of work We are interested in the volume of work across different areas of debt recovery and about fees in different areas. Please provide details in the table below. Please use figures from the last financial year (2010/11) if possible, otherwise indicate the year or time period. If you are unable to break figures down by debt type, please give average figures in the ‘average’ row at the bottom. Do you work in this area of debt? (Y/N) Approx. proportion of cases as a part of your overall workload Average value of debt per case, currently Proportion of cases where debt is fully or partially recovered currently Average value (or proportion) of debt recovered per case currently Average fee per case currently (in addition to debt recovered) Average expected fee per case (across those where fee recovered) in future Commercial rent Council Tax Child Support Agency Court fines and penalties Non-domestic rates Road Traffic Act penalties Writs of Fi Fa Other (please specify) Average Total What was your annual turnover (revenue) for the last financial year (in £)? Please provide a figure, or a range, and clearly specify the time period to which the data relates. What were your annual operating costs for the last financial year (in £)? Please provide a figure or range, and clearly specify the time period to which the data relates. Are you willing to share financial statements with us? Impact Assessment Questionnaire for Enforcement Agent Industry (02.12) Yes No 2 D. Views on the impact of the proposals We are interested in understanding the impacts of each of the proposed changes in the law on your firm. Clarifying the law Do you think your firm would see any benefits from the proposed simplification of the law, such as from streamlining processes? Please give details. Do you think your firm would see any costs from the proposed simplification of the law, such as from streamlining processes? Please give details. Training and certification What proportion of your enforcement agents (both directly employed and those you contract with) are certified? 0–20% 20–40% 40–60% 60–80% 80–100% What proportion of your enforcement agents (both directly employed and those you contract with) have undergone training? 0–20% 20–40% 40–60% 60–80% 80–100% What do you anticipate the cost of training to be per enforcement agent, assuming that training would be required for certification? Please consider the cost relative to what you currently spend on training. £0–£100 £100–£500 £500–£1,000 £1,000+ Assuming that the new certification process includes training, do you envisage that such a certification process would reduce the volume of complaints seen? Please explain. Assuming that the new certification process includes training, do you envisage that such will reduce the cost of dealing with complaints? Please explain. How much time do you currently spend processing complaints per week (approximate)? 0–5 hours/week 5–10 hrs/week 10+ hours/week New fee structure What is the expected impact on profitability of the new fee structure to your firm, assuming the same work is carried out as currently, and considering the structure and fee levels proposed in the consultation document? Large increase Small increase No change Small decrease Large decrease Please explain how you reached this conclusion. Impact Assessment Questionnaire for Enforcement Agent Industry (02.12) 3 Overall impact of combined proposals What do you think the overall impact of the proposed reforms would be on your firm in terms of the efficiency and operations of your firm? Please explain. What do you think the overall financial impact of the proposed reforms would be on your firm, in terms of profitability? Please explain. What do you think the overall financial impact of the proposed reforms would be on your firm, in terms of quality of service? Please explain. Impact Assessment Questionnaire for Enforcement Agent Industry (02.12) 4